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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mate — a friend
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — magic
  7. mate — to breed
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. game — a match
  12. court — for sport
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. court — of a king
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in biology
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com